
This invention relates to a structure having a lower deck, and an upper deck adapted to be lifted and lowered along support posts, and more particularly to a multipurpose freight vehicle capable of being used to transport vehicles; housing an upper deck in a lowered state in a lower deck freely by bringing down upper deck support posts; and transporting freight other than vehicles.
In general, a freight vehicle used exclusively for the transportation of vehicles as freight is made as a two-stage type or three-stage type freight vehicle provided with lower and upper decks so that a greater number of vehicles can be loaded thereonto at once.
Especially, the upper deck is usually made able to be lifted and lowered. Devices for lifting and lowering the upper deck include a link type device formed so as to support the upper deck on plural links operated by hydraulic cylinders, and a support post type device adapted to support the upper deck on plural support posts and lift and lower the same by using hydraulic cylinders and wires.
In a freight vehicle used to carry vehicles and using the support post type upper deck lifting and lowering device out of these devices, the support posts are stood up in an opposed state on both side edge portions of the lower deck, and the hydraulic cylinders are fixed to the respective support posts separately. Pulleys are fixed to retractable rods of the hydraulic cylinders, and the wires mentioned above are passed around the pulleys. One end portion of each of the wires is engaged with the upper deck, and the other end portion thereof the respective support posts. Therefore, when the pulleys are lifted and lowered by extending and retracting the rods of the hydraulic cylinders, the movements of the pulleys are transmitted to the upper deck via the wires, so that the upper deck is lifted and lowered.
Even in a freight vehicle using the support post type upper deck lifting and lowering device, the upper deck lifting and lowering operations are carried out practically by using a link mechanism.
However, according to the above-mentioned related art freight vehicle for transporting vehicles, using the support post type upper deck operating device, support posts are fixed to a vehicle body. Therefore, in order to load freight other than vehicles, for example, elongated steel materials onto a lowered upper deck from a side portion of the a vehicle body, the standing support posts obstruct the loading operation. Consequently, the loading and unloading of such elongated materials can be done only from the upper and rear portions of the vehicle body, so that efficient loading and unloading operations cannot be carried out.
On the other hand, in the freight vehicle using the link type upper deck lifting and lowering device, the upper deck lifting and lowering mechanism becomes complicated. The freight vehicle has a structure in which, even when the upper deck is in a lowered state, the link mechanism has to support at all times a rear portion of the upper deck. Therefore, the rear portion of the upper deck is put in an unstable half-sitting posture, and, even when the upper deck is in a lowered state, the upper deck is readily vibrated in the lateral direction during the travel of the freight vehicle.
The present invention provides a multipurpose freight vehicle formed so that an upper deck lowered and piled on a lower deck can be combined with the lower deck in a unitarized state, whereby a stable flat bed surface is secured, support posts being rendered able to be brought down with the upper deck lowered, in such a manner that the support posts do not obstruct freight loading and unloading operations, whereby the freight loading and unloading operations can be carried out from a side portion of a vehicle body.
The present invention also provides a multipurpose freight vehicle formed so that support posts standing in a mutually opposed state on both side portions of a lower deck can be folded on and housed in the lower deck with an upper deck lowered and piled on the lower deck, the support posts being thereby combined with the lower deck in a unitary state, whereby a flat floor surface is secured.
The present invention also provides a multipurpose freight vehicle is formed so that support posts standing on both side portions of a lower deck can be folded in the longitudinal direction of the lower deck and housed therein with upper deck lowered and piled on the lower deck, whereby the lower deck secures a flat bed surface.
The present invention further provides a multipurpose freight vehicle formed so that support posts standing on both side portions of a lower deck can be brought down with cylinders, which are fixed so as to extend along the support posts, in the longitudinal direction of the lower deck, vibration stopping rods being provided insertably between the standing support posts and cylinders so as to reduce vibrations of the support posts and cylinders to as great an extent as possible, and thereby stabilize the travel of the freight vehicle, whereby base end portions of the pivotably supported support posts can be protected against the breakage of the same end portions which is ascribed to the wear thereof due to the vibration of the support posts.